Category Archives: News

I love writing posts for our news category because I get to share my enthusiasm when I’m fresh off a program. Last week’s New York Team Building event for Unilever IT Business Partners was fun. Additionally, it was productive. It was a positive surprise for everyone who took part. We braved a fierce snow storm and re-arranged flights, allowing flexibility to make sure we didn’t leave New York until we’d written some team building songs! New York Team Building Goals Fun – Fun is not frivolous. Quite to the contrary, fun has value. Picture yourself having fun…in that picture, are you bored? Fun and boredom are antithetical. When we establish fun as a baseline we’re guaranteeing engagement (opposite of boredom).…… Continue Reading

Here’s a trend we’d like to set for corporate team building 2014: February’s on sale – at least here at Kidbilly Music! Book a Team Building Through Song® program for your February event and we’ll take 10% off our regular event fees. AND after your company event, we’ll treat you to a personal songwriting session via Skype with one of our hit songwriters! If you picked the short straw in your staff meeting and you’re now rushing around trying to find team building for your company’s upcoming February event we’ll bail you out and make you look like a hero. Corporate Team Building 2014 Here’s why we’re making our February corporate team building 2014 offer. We like to get messy, we like to…… Continue Reading

I’m just gonna roll events from our September musical team building activities into one post. Because this was our busiest September and it might take me until next September to write a separate post about each event we’ve just facilitated. Part of what I sell is the power of story. Story and music = song. A powerful example of how a great identifying phrase evokes story and emotion is the Kellogg’s phrase I grew up with…They’re GR-R-REAT! (Tony the Tiger). So when I received an email inquiry from a PHD at Kellogg with a picture of Tony the Tiger and that catch phrase at the bottom of the email I was hooked. My wife and I made a long weekend…… Continue Reading

Whew! This is my first time back home for more then three days in a row in a while, and I’m finally catching up on my to-do list. We had a great Phoenix team building event with Honeywell Aerospace back in August and I’ve been wanting to share news about it. The Honeywell Aerospace Integrated Supply Chain doesn’t get a lot of PR. Supply chain folks tend to be behind the scenes. But they’re the people who get it all done. It’s very rewarding to bring some fun and focus to people who spend a lot of time behind the scenes quietly doing their jobs. Honeywell Aerospace Phoenix Team Building Goals Enhancing employee engagement Exploring the challenges of a changing…… Continue Reading

Last week I had the pleasure of working with a large medical association, leading them through their Washington DC team building activity. The group was made up of a high performing team that plans meetings and events for one of the largest associations out there. Pardon the pun, but my task was to provide the team with a tune-up. Our group songwriting process enables teams to recharge, and diffuse tension that builds up over time. Even the best working teams need tune-ups from time to time. Washington DC Team Building Goals Recharge a high performing team Restate goals and share best practices Open better lines of communication Celebrate all that’s been accomplished When we help groups create songs around the…… Continue Reading

Every region has it’s own unique program offerings, influenced by local culture. Corporate team building activities New York are varied with lots of great options. We recently led a team building program for L’Oreal North American Operations in the New York tri-state area and it was one of the more memorable team building events we’ve done. Eight songwriters and myself led close to three hundred people. We broke into teams and created nine unique songs about this company’s experience. Corporate Team Building Activities New York Goals This group of company leaders wanted an activity that would enable them to celebrate success while illuminating facets of their work and their role within the larger organization. They wanted to share their organizational…… Continue Reading

Last year my good friend, David Hutchens, and I presented an innovative energizer at The ASTD International Conference and Exposition in Denver. It was a mash-up of David’s presentations around organizational storytelling and my music team building program. The underlying motivation for David and myself to do the program was our friendship. We thought it would be a good chance to hang out while doing some experimental speechifying! We were right on both counts. We had fun in Denver, made new friends and our speaking presentation was so cool that ASTD invited us back. ASTD International Conference 2013 So this year, we’re headed to the ASTD International Conference in Dallas. Our program is part of the ASTD Innogizer series…innovative energizers…innogizer…get…… Continue Reading

In the meetings and events industry, where fresh ideas are vital to creating successful programs, creativity needs to be paramount. So when I was invited to speak at the Smart Meetings Event in Seattle last week, I jumped at the chance. I knew I’d find a receptive audience, one that would resonate with my topic of Harnessing Your Creative Power. I don’t really offer traditional speaking presentations, as much as interactive experiences that help folks rediscover their innate creative ability by participating. Whether I’m speaking to a group of 100 or 1,000, the experience is much like my team building programs in that everyone contributes through creative exercise. Seattle Team Building Goals This group needed an educational presentation; meaning a…… Continue Reading

I’ve been revisiting old blog posts lately, and came across this one on Nashville speaking presentations. I’m kinda embarrassed by that little video below, but here it will remain since the point of looking at old writing is not to extinguish the past, but merely to update and elaborate. If you’re in Music City for a Nashville speaking presentation, or for music and other events, here’s a page that’s always updated and will be a good resource for you, Upcoming Nashville Events. But back to that video below, one I’d never post if it were today. We learn so much from our past experience, if we allow ourselves to learn. Creative people often talk about the value of failure; failure’s…… Continue Reading

Have I mentioned Kidbilly Music is growing like a weed… And with music being such a great part of Chicago culture, it’s a natural that we open an office to support the growth of our Chicago Team Building programs. I’m excited about the additional energy our Chicago office will add to our Nashville office and our programming. Since I’ll be spending more time in Chicago, I guess I should start looking at current events in the Windy City. It looks like Derrick Rose is about to make his comeback to the Chicago Bulls. It’s comforting to know that I won’t be the only one participating in Chicago team building this spring. Why Chicago Team Building? Okay, I’ll be totally honest.…… Continue Reading